Janet is named the Harper family's lawyer
One of Boston's newcomers and brightest legal stars, Janet Vanderwerf, the Harper family's recently named attorney, tells about how she came to become their lawyer and her connections with Bryan, Anyssa, and Susie. I can't really believe it! I really can't. Anyone would think that it would be crazy to work with a really storied family like the Harpers. I still can't believe that I am now their family attorney. Not bad for a southerner from Richmond! After graduating from college in Richmond, and attending law school in Nashville at Vanderbilt; I was hired to become a law professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. It was the first teaching job I had. I taught Contract Law and I was really impressed with the students I had my first year. Three students stood out for me. They struck me as solid individuals. Bryan Forson, who was a good upstanding young man, but was a bit clumsy; Anyssa Rayburn Harper, a girl who had had more than her share of trouble; and Susannah Lucas, herself a girl who came from a legal family. Those three were solid individuals. They were also very close too. Susie and Anyssa had always been close. I could tell that from the moment they came into class for the first time. I found out much later on, that Anyssa had lived with Susie and her family for the first few years of her life. Sam and Lahoma, Susie's parents, had taken Anyssa in after her parents had died. Anyssa and Susie were more like sisters than best friends. They rarely argued, only time they did was when I had them on opposite sides of mock trials. Anyssa's strengths was as a prosecutor, while Susie was more of a defense lawyer. Even when they were little, the two would have mock trials with their Barbie dolls. Susie had told me that Anyssa's prosecution rate in doll court was an astonishing 97%! Rather impressive for a court made up of dolls. But both girls grew up in the world of law, and although they approach it in different ways, they really do know their stuff. Also, I play on a softball team on weekends at Northeastern. Just a loose group of us, some of us from the school, others from around the city. Our team placed 2nd in an All-City tournament. We lost to a group based out of Allston, but it was a good time. Susie, from what she and Anyssa have told me, is very good as a softball player, and if she ever lived full time in Boston, she would be an asset to ANY softball team. I know it's tough that Anyssa cannot see Susie as often as she would like. Now that she has her own practice, Anyssa can take some time off and go to visit, but that is also not easy since she does have four growing children. Bryan and Anyssa see her at holidays, since Susie IS part of the family, but they aim for visiting with her in Somerset. Maybe that will happen someday. Category:Episodes Category:Episodes from a character's view